2 boaters missing in separate incidents

Two men went missing Saturday in separate incidents north of Houston on the first day of Memorial Day weekend.

A man in his 40s fell off his Jet Ski about 4 p.m. Saturday on Lake Conroe. The man, who was not wearing a life vest, fell in the 20foot-deep water about a quartermile off East Beach. Authorities were searching for him.

While the parks surrounding Lake Conroe remain closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, authorities have allowed lakegoers access to the waters and advised them to carry safety equipment.

Hours later, authorities in Burleson County were searching for a man who went missing while swimming in Somerville Lake.

The man — believed to be 19 — had been boating with friends. As they were returning, he jumped into the water with friends to swim the remaining 25-50 yards to shore, said John Pollock, chief deputy with the Burleson County Sheriff ’s Office.

He never made it. Authorities were still searching for him at 8 p.m. One or two swimmers who had been with the man had made it to shore, Pollock said, adding that police do not believe the man was wearing a personal flotation device.

The incident brought a swarm of first responders to the lake, said Raven Blalock, who helps manage the park with her husband, Mike.

After a long day of work, she and her husband decided to take some time to enjoy the park themselves, and then the ambulances started to arrive. At the boat launch, “it was chaos,” she said, recalling searchers desperately trying to find the man.

Gwendolyn Wu contributed to

this report.